Part 7- Mordecai Takes a Stand — Founded on the Bible

Esther 3:3-6

Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.

We are continuing with our series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”. Part 7 is called, “Mordecai Takes a Stand”, and we discuss how Haman reacted when Mordecai refused to bow to him. The question we will address today is, why did Haman plot revenge?

Mordecai’s colleagues:

The palace officials who were Mordecai’s colleagues were astounded that he wouldn’t obey the king’s orders and bow down in worship to Haman and acknowledge him as his superior. They were terrified that they would all be punished for his act of defiance. Apparently, Mordecai was not one to defy the law, so the men approached him about his behavior. Bowing to Haman was Mordecai’s tipping point and it is because of this command that he reveals to his colleagues that he is a Jew; and Jews do not bow down to idols. Remember the three Hebrew children who wouldn’t worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar? This may have happened 100 years earlier, but the fame of the God of the Hebrews and their miraculous rescue still resonated with the people.

Testing Haman’s powers:

So, in order to distance themselves from Mordecai and clear themselves of any blame, they decided to speak to Haman about Mordecai’s “lack of reverence” and his search for “spiritual truth”. And these guys aren’t entirely innocent. Since Haman is the most famous astrologer in the world and the hearts of all men lay bare before him, why didn’t he intuitively know that Mordecai was Jewish? And, why didn’t he realize that Mordecai wouldn’t bow down before him until it was pointed out to him by these palace officials?

Is Haman all he claims to be?

Doubt had set in the minds of these men, so they tested Haman to check his tolerance level about this situation. Carefully word crafting their case, they presented the facts to Haman and keenly observed his reaction. Would he fly into a rage and have Mordecai interrogated? Would he let on that he was aware of the situation and would take care of it in his own time? Was he going to make Mordecai suffer the consequences for not following the king’s orders and bowing to him? Mordecai’s bold stand and lack of reverence towards Haman became contagious!

Haman’s got some problems:

Like King Xerxes, Haman was in the habit of investigating the matters presented before him and he found the intel to be true. Yes, he could not believe that Mordecai didn’t tremble at his presence and yes, this realization did cause him to be filled with rage. But amazingly, he refrained from reacting impulsively in order to look at the bigger picture.

Doubt leads to loss of control:

Mordecai was a man who was respected and he already planted seeds of doubt into the minds of the palace officials about Haman’s supernatural abilities. Mordecai’s attitude and act of defiance against worshiping him will spread like wildfire among the rest of the Jews. If the Jews won’t worship him, the other citizens will follow suit. If Haman lost control of the people he would also lose his control over the king and this has got to stop! Instead of just aiming for Mordecai, Haman decided that it was necessary to expand his target against all of the Jews throughout the entire Persian empire.

Haman is an Archetype of satan:

Haman is an archetype of satan, the greatest enemy of God’s people (1). In these verses, we are given some characteristics of satan and how he operates. Let’s take a look at them.

1). Satan is a glory hound:

Haman loves the respect of men and needs to be feared and worshiped. Satan is a glory hound and needs mortal men to be in fearful worshipful awe of him.

2). Satan is not omniscient:

Haman is not all knowing. Mortal men, out of fear of being punished themselves, had to bring to his attention that Mordecai would not bow down to him. Satan is not omniscient. It would be wise to keep our mouths shut and not accommodate satan by voicing our observations about others or ourselves.

3). Satan needs to feel superior:

Haman was filled with rage when fear did not intimidate Mordecai into bowing down to him. He couldn’t believe that Mordecai didn’t perceive himself as weak and inferior. Satan needs to feel superior. Nothing enrages satan more than for mortal man to perceive himself as strong in the Lord and not intimidated by him or his tactics.

4). Satan does the research:

Haman does not have a knee jerk reaction but investigates the matter presented to him. He realized that the palace officials were self preserving and that Mordecai just recently publicly revealed his nationality. Satan also takes his time to do the research. He probes us to discover our vulnerabilities and tolerance levels.

5). Satan has a scorched earth policy:

Haman made sure that the outcome of the punishment would make the greatest possible impact. He wasn’t just going to get rid of Mordecai, but annihilate the entire Jewish population!

Satan explores the situation at every possible angle. He is the author of the “scorched earth policy”. He will not only destroy you, but everyone and everything connected to you.

Let’s pray:

Father,

You are the only One Who is deserving of my worship and only You are omniscient and know the hearts of men. Give me the grace to be careful of what I say. I don’t need to fear anyone used by satan or be intimidated by evil tactics because my trust is in You. No matter what weaknesses satan might find in my life, or plans he may devise in his attempts to destroy me, You are my strength and shield. You are my very present help in time of trouble. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

References:

1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haman